T.I. defends himself against new allegations in “Blurred Lines” case, MajorLazer announce Peace is the Mission, BigSean describes the KanyeWest experience with Big Morning Buzz’s Nick Lachey, and more on Last Lap.

Elle King has mad water slide skills, you guys! We should know, because we’ve been putting our favorite bluesy banjo rocker through the ringer testing the rides. She’s clearly enjoying all Hangout Music Festival has to offer, and you can too! Read more…

One of the most amazing things about the evolution of the music industry is that music is suddenly more accessible than ever. The days of having to go out of your way and make a special trip to a record shop are long over. Now, the only thing standing between a consumer and a song they want to buy is the speed of your wireless connection. This advancement of technology has its costs, though: Many have penned obituaries for the medium that energized the music business in the 80s and 90s, the compact disc. Read more…

It’s less than one week until your friendly VH1 Tuner team will be packing their bags and hopping on a flight headed south … South By Southwest, actually. That’s right, we’ll be in Austin all next week to get the lowdown on the hottest bands (and best barbeque, natch), and a doozy of an announcement just landed in our inboxes. On Tuesday, March 12, we’ll be in attendance at the MTV/VH1/CMT Present: Live in Austin event, which will be headlined by Jim James of My Morning Jacket fame. Read more…

The world still buzzing about her Olympicshowings, last night You Oughta Know artist Emeli Sandé stopped in to lift the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with a performance of her triumphant new single, “Wonder.” The stage was set with bubbles — maybe because of that “we ain’t falling under” line? — and she was joined by a full band and a snapping lineup of backup singers. Like this, the song feels almost like gospel, soaring and inspirational. “This song is for you, and you are full of wonder,” she insists at the songs climax, her hands held as a “W” over her head, and you really believe her. If only every night ended and each morning began with a performance like this, the world could probably be a better place.

Sandé takes the stage in the above video around 42 minutes — watch, feel the wonder!

You just heard Elle King‘s “Playing For Keeps,” the outstanding Mob Wives: Chicago theme song. Elle told us, when she swung through our offices ahead of the show’s premiere, that she thinks it’s “so cool” that she has a television theme song of her own, and especially so for “such a gangster show.” She wrote the song for people who might have lost their way, she says, before adding with a wink, “like in the mob. Not that it exists. I’m not saying nothing!”

“Playing for Keeps” easily earns its place with the greats, and so we figured we would have Elle share with us her five favorites from the canon. Amongst them is a classic that she still knows all the words to, another that’s always stuck in her head, and that one has her jonesing for a vampire make-out sesh every time. And then, because she’s a little wild like that, she threw in a bonus 6th favorite. Check it out!

At VH1, countless hours are spent determining what music best complements our shows. This past month was no different as VH1’s CMI team worked to synch the best tracks to shows like Mob Wives Chicago and Single Ladies 2, tunes that added an extra spark to the drama onscreen. We thought it would be neat to give you an inside look into this world of music supervision.

To this end, we’ve put together a list of all the songs featured on our network in June — from artists like Timomatic, Emeli Sande, and up-and-comer Elle King. Additionally, we’ve included commentary from CMI team members as to why they selected songs for particular scenes as well as a Spotify playlist for you to sample. Enjoy, and look out for our July playlist!